Screaming Eagles Hold Two 2016 QMJHL First Round Draft Picks
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles will head to the 2016 QMJHL entry draft holding two first round selections. All 18-member teams will convene in PEI this Saturday, June 4th, for the league’s annual event. Screaming Eagles General Manager and Head Coach Marc-Andre Dumont says is his scouting staff is ready. Dumont believes that “Our scouts have identified some players they feel have what it takes to be a Screaming Eagle and we look forward to being able to grab them when our turn comes”.
Cape Breton is scheduled to choose seven times in the first four rounds, and sixteen times in total over the fourteen round selection process. The Screaming Eagles have held on to their original first round pick at #13 and were granted another selection at #9 as compensation when the Screaming Eagles choose to take last year’s #4 overall pick Shane Bowers off their list.
Following the first round the Screaming Eagles are next slated to pick in round three, where they hold two selections (#46 & #49). Cape Breton obtained an additional third rounder in the deal that sent Tim Simard to Chicoutimi. Round four currently holds three picks (#59, #67, #68) for the Screaming Eagles. Sherbrooke sent their fourth round pick in 2016 (along with Jonathan Deschamps) in a deal that saw the Eagles ship out Alex Bureau. Cape Breton holds Moncton’s fourth round choice as well from the Zach Fortin trade.
The Screaming Eagles currently hold one pick in each of the rounds six through fourteen (#95, #121, #131, #157, #175, #193, #211, #229, #247), while having no selections in the second or fifth round. The fifth round choice was sent to Val-d’Or in the move that brought Stephen Anderson to Centre 200. The second round pick now belongs to Rimouski as part of the Michael Joly deal.
In addition to the draft this weekend, the league trading period opens on Friday. At least one transaction involving the Screaming Eagles is confirmed, as the team will receive two second round draft picks from the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, one in 2016 and the other in 2017. The picks are compensation from a prior deal in which Cape Breton traded for the rights to Alexandre Ranger, but Ranger landed in the professional ranks, splitting this past year between the AHL and ECHL.
According to Screaming Eagles GM & Head Coach Marc-Andre Dumont, the team is in position to bring back 13 players from last year’s club. He describes his Cape Breton squad as “a team in a transition phase” that is “looking to reload on talent in every position”. The draft will be the culmination of months of work for Assistant GM/Head Scout Jacques Carriere and the Eagles scouting staff. The Cape Breton bench boss says the organization has done over 50 in-person interviews with prospects and estimates they have done an additional 120 interviews over the phone.
Head Scout Jacques Carriere says he and his group of six scouts have also witnessed 2,000 games heading into the draft. Carriere cites that the Eagles also put an emphasis on the off-ice aspects, saying, “it takes a special person to be a Screaming Eagle and those are character traits that we try to figure out. Carriere believes that while recent drafts have been heavy on quality defenseman, this year’s crop is more evenly spread out in terms of strength at different positions. He feels that the first round is very strong and also states that a lot of the quality draft eligible players are from Atlantic Canada.
Some of the talent available on Saturday is Cape Breton bred. There are eleven listed draft eligible players that played midget hockey with either the Cape Breton Tradesmen and Cape Breton West Islanders. Five are ranked in the first twelve rounds by Central Scouting, highlighted by goaltender Colten Ellis (Islanders) and defenseman Leon Denny (Tradesmen) who are both ranked in the third round.
One Cape Breton native will be attending his final draft in a working capacity this weekend. Long time Eagles staff member Blair Joseph is finishing his fourth year as a Cape Breton based scout for the organization. Prior to scouting Joseph spent ten years behind the Eagles bench as an assistant coach.
Saturday’s entry draft will take place at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown. It begins at 10 AM and admission is free for anyone that wishes to attend.
